Valentines: Lightning Strikes

"Picture this: it's about 1945, young women are swooning over Frank Sinatra's sultry voice, and young men are fighting for their country in WWII ... One such young woman, along with her girlfriends, leaves a theatre in NYC after seeing Frank Sinatra live, and one such young man, dressed in his Navy uniform, along with his buddies, tries to make his way to Coney Island....

"They stop, talk ... "where are you coming from?" "Where are you going?" The connection is made, and the young woman -- my mom -- takes the young sailor -- my dad -- to her home in Queens, introducing him to her parents. In those days, the military were honored by welcoming them into homes and giving them shelter for the night and so my father was welcomed, fed, and given a sofa to sleep on for the night in my grandparents' home.

"My father's ship sailed out the next day (he never did make it to Coney Island), but a love was born between this young woman and this young man that lasted 63 married years. My dad passed away 12/27/09, but I can honestly say, my mom and dad's love for one another still lives on!"